The Ancient Olympics
Created | Updated Jun 18, 2013
The Ancient Olympics
The original Olympics consisted of only one event; a 192-metre foot race. The first recorded winner, in 776 BC, was Coroebos, a cook from the small Greek town Elis. More events were added over the years and by 600 BC there were longer races as well, plus boxing, wrestling and the pentathlon which comprised long jump, discus, javelin, wrestling and sprinting.
The wrestling and boxing were pretty brutal compared to today’s events: the boxers wore serviceable knuckledusters in the form of leather thongs studded with iron knobs and in the wrestling, only biting and eye-gouging were banned. Even this was not strictly enforced.
A wrestler, Arachion of Phiglia, entered the record books by being the only dead athlete ever to win an Olympic event. His opponent, Eurydamion, was simultaneously applying the (perfectly legal) holds of a scissorlock and a stranglehold, when Arachion, in his death throes, broke Eurydamion’s toe. Eurydamion let go and conceded defeat, but sadly the stranglehold had already done the trick and the victor’s wreath had to be placed on a corpse. Arachion’s drop-dead victorious record still stands and right up to the present day no other athlete has attempted to equal it. It can hardly be bettered, except by being carried dead to the starting line.
The Ancient Games were not politically correct: women were strictly prohibited from attending and any woman caught at the venue was thrown off a cliff. Perhaps this was merely an attempt to preserve the modesty of their womenfolk, as the competitors were not only naked, but covered in olive oil. Modern athletes seem to feel that Lycra is the better option.
The original Olympics consisted of only one event; a 192-metre foot race. The first recorded winner, in 776 BC, was Coroebos, a cook from the small Greek town Elis. More events were added over the years and by 600 BC there were longer races as well, plus boxing, wrestling and the pentathlon which comprised long jump, discus, javelin, wrestling and sprinting.
The wrestling and boxing were pretty brutal compared to today’s events: the boxers wore serviceable knuckledusters in the form of leather thongs studded with iron knobs and in the wrestling, only biting and eye-gouging were banned. Even this was not strictly enforced.
A wrestler, Arachion of Phiglia, entered the record books by being the only dead athlete ever to win an Olympic event. His opponent, Eurydamion, was simultaneously applying the (perfectly legal) holds of a scissorlock and a stranglehold, when Arachion, in his death throes, broke Eurydamion’s toe. Eurydamion let go and conceded defeat, but sadly the stranglehold had already done the trick and the victor’s wreath had to be placed on a corpse. Arachion’s drop-dead victorious record still stands and right up to the present day no other athlete has attempted to equal it. It can hardly be bettered, except by being carried dead to the starting line.
The Ancient Games were not politically correct: women were strictly prohibited from attending and any woman caught at the venue was thrown off a cliff. Perhaps this was merely an attempt to preserve the modesty of their womenfolk, as the competitors were not only naked, but covered in olive oil. Modern athletes seem to feel that Lycra is the better option.
